


Old Family, New Family

by Jathis



Category: Fables - Willingham
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Memories, Past Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-28
Updated: 2015-07-28
Packaged: 2018-04-11 17:38:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4445573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jathis/pseuds/Jathis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ride knows that it can be hard to let go.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Old Family, New Family

It had been Ride’s idea. Ever since she and Flycatcher found out that she was pregnant with their first child together, the woman had been more mindful of her husband’s past. She saw that Flycatcher was excited at the prospect of their firstborn but there were times, when he thought that she wasn’t paying attention, that she saw a look of uncertainty on his face.

And that was when she made the suggestion one night when he pressed an ear to her stomach to try and hear the baby. He had looked up at her in surprise, eyes wide as he started to stammer and apologize. But Ride knew how he felt and she argued that it was better to have this done now to ensure that their child’s birth was not shrouded in old grief.

“This…this is the spot,” Flycatcher said, stepping forward to stand where his first wife had sat centuries ago. “She was sitting right here. I still don’t know why she chose a swamp but I suppose if someone wants to be alone, a swamp is as good as any place, right?” He looked over at Ride, offering her a small smile. “She was playing with a golden ball and it fell into the water.”

“There’s a few stories where a prince or a princess loses a golden ball they were playing with as a toy,” Ride suddenly noted, “why is that?”

Flycatcher frowned as he thought about this, shrugging his shoulders as he shook his head before he said, “I don’t honestly know,” he confessed, “I never played with something like that at any rate!”

Ride giggled, giving him a gentle nudge, “what happened after it fell into the water?”

“Oh. Well I popped up!” he said, perking up a little. “I had been swimming nearby when I heard the splash and her cry out. I felt bad for her and I didn’t want her nice dress to get ruined but I also knew that I really needed this curse to get lifted, so I asked for a kiss in return for bringing back her ball to her!”

The pair looked up when they heard footsteps coming. Weyland smiled at the both of them, a statue held over one shoulder. “Where shall I place this?” he asked.

Ride looked over at Flycatcher and he blushed, looking down at the ground once more. Finally he shifted a little, tapping the ground with a foot. “It was right here that she gave me my first kiss,” he said.

“Right!” Weyland agreed, stepping forward to set the statue into its proper place. The base of the statue was smooth, a plaque welded to the front with an inscription. The statue itself was of a woman sitting among water lilies, seven frogs in her lap interacting with each other and the scenario representing his children that had been killed before their years, and a single tadpole resting in the palm of her upraised hand to represent the newborn that had barely lived at all. “How does it look?”

“It looks amazing,” Flycatcher whispered, looking up at the statue’s face. Old thoughts forced their way up and he sighed, shoulders falling. He perked up when Ride took his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Ride?”

“I think it would be nice to take our children here when they’re born. They could come out here to play and maybe have some of their lessons out here. I’m sure they’d like it.”

“…Really?”

“Yes.”

“You know that I love you.”

“And I love you too,” she agreed, kissing him on the cheek. “More than anything.”


End file.
